Should Abused Women's Reports of Partner Substance Abuse Be Accepted as Valid?

Current research suggests that a husband's substance abuse is correlated with severity of physical abuse and the woman's decision to leave a violent situation. Often, only the battered woman's report of abuse is available. This study compares women's reports of their partners' substance use/abuse with their partners' report using a brief measure of polydrug and alcohol abuse, the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) and the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS). Data were analyzed for 25 recovery couples and 25 nonrecovery couples. The correlations for all 50 couples between the male's reported use and the female's report of her partner's use on the SASSI and the CTS were significant on all but one of the CTS scales. They ranged on SASSI from .73 to .33 and from .31 to .06 on the CTS. This suggests that the SASSI and possibly the CTS could be used as valuable tools for assessing women's reports of their partner's substance use/abuse.     

In Pursuit of the Public Interest

What does the injunction “serve the public interest” really mean for public managers, and why is it important? By way of an answer, this analysis systematizes different perspectives on the public interest and offers a multifaceted formulation of the public manager’s duty. It is a process involving the exploration of two concerns—democracy and mutuality—in the current time frame and two others—sustainability and legacy—in the future time frame.     

Medicaid in the 1990s: Trends, Innovations, and the Future of the "PAC-Man" of State Budgets

Rapidly escalating health-care inflation and congressionallymandated expansions have led to large increases in spendingfor Medicaid, the federal-state program of health care for thepoor. These increases came at a time when state budgets werealready under recession-induced stresses. In addition, 1991brought new pressures for Medicaid spending from the courtsand closer federal scrutiny and control over revenues used forthe program's state "match." Yet the Medicaid picture is farfrom bleak. Diversity, innovation, and an emerging stale policyrole also characterize the program in ways that epitomize thestrengths and weaknesses of the American intergovernmental system.